This past weekend marked our third trip working with Visit Escanaba, and at this point the drive north is starting to feel a little familiar.
Little Bay de Noc ice fishing has a reputation that pulls anglers in from all over the Midwest every winter. Between the elusive trophy walleye, the sheer size of the bay, and the way conditions can change from week to week, it’s one of those places that never quite fishes the same way twice. That unpredictability is part of the reason we keep coming back.
This trip, however, almost didn’t happen when we originally planned it.
We were supposed to be in Escanaba in late January, but brutal winter weather forced a change of plans. Wind chills were pushing 40 to 50 below, and forecasts were warning about dangerously cold conditions across the Upper Peninsula. Some of the online alerts circulating at the time were even talking about the possibility of “exploding trees” from the extreme temperatures.
As much as we were looking forward to the trip, postponing felt like the smarter call. Instead of pushing through the cold, we rescheduled the visit for late February into early March, hoping for a little more forgiving window while still catching Escanaba in the heart of winter.
When the new trip date finally rolled around, we loaded up the truck, pointed it north again, and started the drive toward the U.P.
Sometimes the Trip Starts Before You Get There
About 45 minutes into the drive north, we realized we had forgotten something pretty important… our snowmobile helmets.
Turning around would have limited us on hours fishing once we reached Escanaba. After a quick discussion in the truck, we decided the better move was to just buy new helmets on the way. Truthfully, it was probably overdue anyway. I’ve been using the same helmet since my younger four-wheeling days, and Jay’s was well over ten years old.
Minocqua was the next larger stop along our route, so we started checking Facebook Marketplace listings and local shops to see what might be available. That search eventually led us to Minocqua Power Sports Rental, which ended up being exactly what we needed.
It also came with an unexpected bonus: a very enthusiastic chocolate lab named Ray.
Ray greeted us immediately and spent most of our time in the shop trying to steal a balaclava off the fireplace display. At one point he almost made off with it entirely, and I had to pull it out of his mouth before he committed to eating it. The staff there were incredibly friendly and busy getting people outfitted for snowmobiling that weekend around Minocqua.
We walked out with new helmets, which honestly felt like a blessing in disguise. Jay had been wanting to upgrade for a while, and now we finally had an excuse to do it. The helmets we bought also happen to be heat-capable, which wasn’t something we were specifically shopping for, but it means once we add the aftermarket hookup for the sled we’ll be able to use that feature in the future.
For now, though, we’ll probably just keep our old helmets as backups… or they’ll end up at a garage sale someday.
One other thing worth noting for travelers: Michigan requires snowmobile helmets when riding sleds, including when traveling across frozen bays like Little Bay de Noc. It’s something to keep in mind if you’re planning a trip and bringing machines along.
With new helmets in hand and Ray properly supervised around the clothing rack, we got back on the road and pointed the truck toward Escanaba.
Arrival in Escanaba
Before heading to our lodging, we made a quick and very necessary stop at Gram’s Pasties in Escanaba.
If you’re traveling anywhere in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, stopping for a pasty is practically mandatory. The dish dates back to the region’s mining history, when Cornish miners brought the handheld meat pies with them to the U.P. in the 1800s. The hearty, sealed crust made them easy to carry underground for lunch and durable enough to stay warm for hours while working in the mines.
Today, pasties are still a defining food of the region.
At Gram’s, we decided to try a couple different options. One was a barbecue pork and mac and cheese pasty, which honestly sounded a little different but turned out to be incredible. The other was a pizza pasty, which was equally good and definitely hit the spot after the drive.
With lunch taken care of, we finally headed over to Terrace Bay Hotel to check in and start the weekend.
This was our third time staying there, and at this point walking through the doors feels less like checking into a hotel and more like coming back to a place where people remember you.
After getting settled, we met up with Jared and Rick, the co-owners of Terrace Bay and two of the kindest people you could hope to work with. They’ve hosted us each time we’ve come to Escanaba, and they go out of their way to make sure we’re taken care of while we’re in town. Things like coffee in the morning, meals at the restaurant, and simply making sure we have everything we need during the trip never go unnoticed.
Partnerships like this are some of my favorite. When businesses trust you enough to host you and show what they offer, it gives you the chance to actually experience the place the same way a visitor would. In return, I always try to make sure I’m giving them plenty of content and exposure that reflects the experience honestly.
I’ll talk more about Terrace Bay later because it really has become a cornerstone of our Escanaba trips, but first, we had ice to get out on.
First Stop: Blades Bait & Tackle
Before heading out onto the bay, we made a stop at Blades Bait & Tackle.
If you’re new to Little Bay de Noc or just visiting for the first time, this place is one of the best headquarters you could ask for. It’s the kind of shop where you can walk in with a plan, or walk in completely unsure of where to start, and still leave feeling like you’ve got a good direction.
Blades has just about everything you could possibly need for a trip on the ice. Heaters, shacks, ice suits, rods, tackle, accessories. If you forgot something at home or realized halfway through the drive that you needed another piece of gear, chances are you’ll find it there.
But the real value is the knowledge.
They regularly post fishing reports online and are always willing to talk through what’s been working, where anglers have been seeing fish, and what baits people are finding success with. Their advice is something you shouldn’t overlook if you’re planning a trip to Escanaba.
After chatting with them and getting a feel for how things had been going on the bay, we grabbed what we needed and headed out to start the trip.
First Evening on the Bay
Our first stop on the ice that afternoon was an area we had fished the year before and found success on one of our days. We started on the east side of Little Bay de Noc, setting up in roughly 28 to 33 feet of water. Almost immediately, the electronics started lighting up. We were marking a lot of fish.
The problem was getting any of them to actually commit.
That first evening gave us a little bit of false hope. We had fish come through that looked promising: a few perch, a couple of large pike, and what appeared to be several good-sized walleyes moving through the area. We tried a mix of tip-ups and jigging, but the fish simply wouldn’t close the deal.
Every mark felt like it might finally turn into a bite, but it just never happened. Looking back now, that evening probably foreshadowed how the rest of the trip would go.
We fished Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and despite marking fish throughout the weekend, we never managed to land a single one. It was just a tough bite. From conversations we had later that night at the hotel and over dinner, it sounded like that was the general consensus from a lot of anglers on the bay that weekend.
A Night at Terrace Bay
After that first evening on the ice, we headed back to Terrace. We always book a lakefront suite, and the view alone makes it worth it. Looking out over the bay from your room gives you a full sense of how big this fishery really is.
The rooms themselves are incredibly comfortable after a long day outside. There’s plenty of space to spread out gear, lots of outlets for charging electronics and batteries, a coffee pot ready for the morning, blackout curtains for sleeping in after early starts, and maybe most importantly, a hot shower waiting after a cold day on the ice.
Once we cleaned up, we headed downstairs to Freshwater Tavern, the restaurant located inside the hotel.
We started with an appetizer of cheese-stuffed mushrooms, which were incredible. For dinner, I ordered the halibut special topped with mango salsa, while Jay went with a steak and potatoes.
I stuck with mocktails for the evening, while Jay ordered his usual old fashioned, which has kind of become his go-to drink when we’re there. And of course, we couldn’t skip dessert. A cheesecake duo finished off the night before we headed back upstairs to rest up for the next morning and another full day on the bay.
Saturday Ice Fishing on Little Bay de Noc
Saturday morning started early. Very early. The alarm went off around 5 a.m., and we headed out toward the Red Gate landing, which if we’re being honest was probably against our better judgment.
The north end of Little Bay de Noc is known for being extremely busy. Locals will often tell you that if you’re looking for a little more breathing room on the ice, that’s usually the area to avoid. That advice proved pretty accurate that morning. Even as early as we arrived, trucks were already lining up and anglers were pouring into the access. It felt like everyone had the same idea. We unloaded in the dark and got to work setting up.
The wind was already ripping across the bay and the cold had that bitter edge to it that makes everything feel a little slower. First things first, we flipped over our Otter Lodge shack, got the tent set up, and then started drilling holes and setting our tip-ups.
Once everything was in place, we settled into the shack and started watching the electronics. Unfortunately, the story of the day quickly became pretty familiar. We barely marked any fish. Compared to the day before, there were far fewer fish showing up on the screen, and the ones we did see still wouldn’t commit. Tip-ups sat untouched, jigging rods stayed quiet, and despite the sheer number of anglers scattered across the ice, we didn’t see much action happening around us either.
The wind continued to build throughout the morning, making it feel even colder than it already was. After fishing from about 6 a.m. until roughly 9:30, we finally decided to pack it in for a bit and head back to Terrace Bay to warm up.
A Quick Break at Terrace Bay
Back at the hotel, we connected with co-owner Rick, who had an idea to grab some drone footage for Terrace Bay’s marketing materials while we were in town.
So instead of sitting inside, we headed back out onto the ice right in front of the hotel and spent some time helping capture footage of anglers fishing the bay with the Terrace Bay property in the background.
The drone shots turned out really cool, and if you’ve seen some of my recent Instagram reels, there’s a good chance you’ve already spotted a few of those clips.
Before long, though, the cold started catching up to us again, which meant it was time for our usual stop downstairs at Biggby Coffee, located inside the hotel. Our order has pretty much become routine at this point. I always go for the Butter Bear iced coffee with whipped cream, while Jay decided to try the sweet foam addition this time around. After one sip he declared it something he’d order every time from now on. We paired the coffee with turkey Havarti breakfast sandwiches, which honestly hit the spot after being out in the wind all morning.
Moments like that are one of the things I appreciate most about staying at Terrace Bay. Being able to come in from the ice, warm up, grab good coffee, and reset before heading back out makes a huge difference during a winter fishing trip.
After a short break and a quick nap, we decided to take a short drive for something a little different.
A Detour to the Trenary Outhouse Classic
Just a short drive from Escanaba is the tiny town of Trenary, Michigan, which once a year hosts one of the most entertaining winter events in the Upper Peninsula: the Trenary Outhouse Classic.
This year marked the 33rd annual race, affectionately nicknamed the “Turdy Turd” annual, and it was an absolute riot. The town itself has a population of around 600 people, but during the event it easily quadruples in size as visitors pile in to watch teams race homemade outhouses mounted on skis down a snow-packed track. Yes, actual outhouses.
Teams build their own structures, two racers push and steer them down the course, and chaos usually follows. This year’s theme celebrated 250 years of America, which meant patriotic costumes everywhere. There was a patriotic costume contest, a fur hat contest, and a $5 entry fee that got you a button necklace that also doubled as a raffle ticket.
Between the food, drinks, costumes, and the races themselves, the atmosphere was pure Upper Peninsula winter fun. Honestly, we probably could have stayed there all day just soaking it in.
But we had come to Escanaba to fish, so eventually we pointed the truck back toward the bay.
Saturday Afternoon
That afternoon we decided to fish right in front of Terrace Bay. The convenience of driving the snowmobile straight from the hotel to the ice is something that never gets old, and it made for an easy transition back into fishing mode.
Electronics once again started marking fish throughout the afternoon, which at first felt promising. But just like earlier in the trip, the fish refused to cooperate. We watched marks move through, tried working them different ways, and waited for flags that never came. It was one of those situations where you know fish are around, but convincing them to bite just isn’t happening. We fished through the afternoon and into the evening, finally packing things up around 6:30 p.m. near sunset.
Another Night at Freshwater Tavern
Back inside, we cleaned up and headed downstairs once again to Freshwater Tavern for dinner.
We started with their ahi tuna appetizer, which has quickly become one of those things we order almost every time we’re there. For the main course, I ordered our servers recommendation of the Korean beef dish, while Jay went with a full rack of ribs. After a long day on the ice, sitting down to a good meal like that feels pretty great.
We wrapped up the night with dessert: a strawberry pasty that was excellent, even if I can’t remember the exact name of it now. At one point we debated heading down to the pool and hot tub, but there happened to be a hockey group staying at the hotel that weekend and the pool area was pretty full.
Instead, we decided a warm room and an early night sounded better. By the time we got back upstairs, we were more than ready for bed, and hopeful that the next morning might finally turn the fishing around.
Sunday, One Last Shot at the Bay
Sunday morning we were up at the same time as the previous days, right around 5 a.m., although it took us a little longer to get moving. After a full weekend of early alarms, hauling gear, unloading the sled, loading the sled, and chasing a bite that never quite came together, we were definitely feeling it.
Still, we weren’t ready to call it yet.
Based on some local intel we had received earlier in the trip, we decided to try one more area on the east side of Little Bay de Noc, just south of where we had fished Friday. The recommendation came from a local angler who had spent a lot of time on the bay, so it felt like a good place to give the trip one last push.
We loaded up at Terrace Bay and drove the sled about three miles across the bay, setting up somewhere between Hunting Point and Minokwe Point where we’d been Fridady and had success last year.
Each day of the trip we had tried new water rather than sitting on the same spot hoping something would change, and Sunday was no different. This time we slid a little deeper. Most of our jigging holes were set in 33 to 34 feet of water, while our tip-ups were staged slightly deeper between 35 and 40 feet.
Right away, the electronics started showing fish again. In fact, we probably marked more fish that morning than we had the day before, and a few of them even looked aggressive enough to make us think the bite might finally turn around.
But just like the rest of the weekend, they never committed. The marks would move through, engage for a moment, and then disappear just as quickly as they arrived. Despite the lack of action, the morning itself was actually beautiful.
The wind that had punished us the day before was completely gone. The bay was calm, the sun was shining, and aside from the chill that comes with any early morning on the ice, it was one of those quiet winter mornings where you almost forget you’re sitting in the middle of a massive frozen bay.
Unfortunately, the fish still didn’t get the memo. By late morning we finally decided it was time to pack things up and start the trip home. Before leaving town, though, we made one last stop downstairs at Biggby Coffee inside Terrace Bay for our usual order.
And just like that, the weekend was over.. but not until heading to Ludington Park to visit the Little Sled Library.
Late Season Intel for Little Bay de Noc Ice Fishing
Even though the bite didn’t come together for us this trip, we spent a lot of time talking with other anglers on the ice and around town to try and understand what people were seeing across the bay.
The overall takeaway was pretty consistent: this has been a tough season for a lot of people. The weather patterns all winter have been strange, and several anglers mentioned that things have just never quite settled into a predictable rhythm.
One thing that came up repeatedly was depth.
Most anglers recommended not starting any shallower than about 33½ feet of water. The better concentrations of fish seemed to begin there, with some of the more aggressive groups holding between 35 and 40 feet. Those deeper packs were reportedly the fish that were actually feeding and reacting to presentations.
Color-wise, purple continues to be one of the most reliable producers on the bay.
Other colors would sometimes draw interest, but several anglers mentioned fish seemed noticeably more tentative when switching away from purple. If you’re heading up during the final stretch of the season, it’s probably a safe bet to keep at least one purple presentation in the water.
Most of the successful jigging reports we heard centered around classic Bay de Noc staples like:
- Shadow Raps
- Jigging Raps
- Shiver Minnows
- Beaver Minnows
When fish turned negative, a few anglers suggested downsizing or switching things up with buckshot spoons or flutter spoons to trigger bites.
Tip-up anglers were also still seeing some success using northern suckers, especially when combined with forward-facing sonar to monitor fish movement. The setup that seemed to be working best was suspending the bait about 4½ to 6 feet off the bottom, letting it sit above cruising fish.
Another piece of advice we heard more than once: don’t be afraid to move away from the crowds.
Some anglers experimenting in shallower water away from the main groups reported seeing fish off structure, although results there were more limited and inconsistent. The deeper areas still seemed to hold the better concentrations of quality fish overall.
One important safety note if you’re unfamiliar with the area: avoid Saunders Point. There is an intake there that keeps water moving and creates open water, which makes the ice unsafe in that area.
When we were on the bay on March 1st, there were still about two weeks left in Michigan’s walleye season. Now, as this is being written, anglers have roughly 11 days remaining to get out before the season closes.
Personally, I think we may have been about a week early for the bite we were hoping for. With the strange winter and fluctuating weather patterns this year, it wouldn’t surprise me if the final stretch of the season ends up producing some of the better action.
Hopefully some of this intel helps anyone planning to make the trip north before the season wraps up. Little Bay de Noc has a way of rewarding persistence.
Final Thoughts
Even on a weekend when the fish don’t bite, Escanaba still manages to deliver something worth the trip.
Between the food, the people, the views across Little Bay de Noc, and having Terrace Bay Hotel as a comfortable home base, the experience goes beyond just what happens at the end of your line. Trips like this are a good reminder that fishing doesn’t always go the way you hope it will. But sometimes the stories, the places, and the people you meet along the way end up being the parts you remember most.
And chances are, we’ll be back again to give Little Bay de Noc another shot.
Read my other blogs from my trips with Visit Escanaba below:
